13 Vegetarian Soup Recipes

Starting a meal with a salad isn't the only way to boost your vegetable intake. Mix it up by having a bowl of homemade vegetarian soup instead. You'll get that extra dose of nutrients and an extra serving or two of veggies. And, if you're trying to lose weight, one study found that people who slurped soup before a main lunch course consumed fewer calories at the meal overall.

These vegetarian soup recipes are low in fat, high in flavor, and easy to make. Enjoy!

Your eyes (and your taste buds, naturally) will thank you for eating this soup. Carrots are a great source of beta carotene, which your body turns into vitamin A and is important for vision health.

Ingredients: Low-sodium vegetable broth, olive oil, onion, garlic, ginger, red potato, carrots, coconut milk, red bell pepper, white pepper, cubed apple or pear

Calories: 97

Try this recipe: Carrot Ginger Coconut Soup

This light summer soup features all your seasonal produce favorites, including bell peppers, cucumbers, and heirloom tomatoes. Grilled baguette slices rubbed with garlic give the chilled soup a smoky flavor.

Ingredients: Baguette slices, olive oil, garlic, water, red wine vinegar, sea salt, black pepper, heirloom tomatoes, cucumber, yellow bell pepper, red onion, lemon, parsley

Calories: 102

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This belly-warming soup is fat-free, cholesterol-free, and low in calories—but it's not low in flavor thanks to the creamy sweet potatoes, spicy ginger, and just a touch of sugar. Use an immersion blender to make this five-ingredient recipe even easier.

Ingredients: Water, sweet potato, ginger, sugar, salt

Calories: 89

Try this recipe: Sweet Potato-and-Ginger Soup

This unique take on chili has winter squash as its star ingredient. You can use whichever winter squash looks best at your grocery store—butternut, acorn, and kabocha would work great in this recipe.

Ingredients: Olive oil, onion, yellow bell pepper, garlic, black beans, vegetable broth, canned diced tomatoes, canned mild green chilies, chili powder, chipotle chili powder, dried oregano, winter squash, salt

Calories: 226

Try this recipe: Black-Bean Chili With Winter Squash

Tomato soup gets a twist with the addition of fennel, a Mediterranean member of the parsley family with a licorice-like flavor. This recipe can easily be made vegan: Just use olive oil in place of butter, and skip the heavy cream.

Ingredients: Butter, fennel bulbs, fennel seed, scallions, light brown sugar, vacuum-packed chopped tomatoes, heavy cream

Calories: 165

Try this recipe: Tomato-Fennel Soup

Here, you get three tomato soup recipes in one. Your options: Make the recipe as-is for a classic soup; add white rice, bulgur, or couscous to make a heartier version; or turn up the heat by swapping out the fresh thyme and basil for curry powder, chili powder, or smoked paprika.

Ingredients: Olive oil, onion, carrot, pepper, tomato paste, fresh thyme, tomatoes, tomato juice or water, sugar, fresh basil leaves

Calories: 129

Try this recipe: Tomato Soup

This refreshing chilled soup is packed with lycopene, an antioxidant. Tomatoes also provide vitamin C, folate, and potassium. At just 88 calories per serving, this is the perfect starter to a summer meal.

Ingredients: Tomato juice, tomato, cucumber, yellow bell pepper, red bell pepper, red onion, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt, black pepper, basil

Calories: 88

Try this recipe: Summer-Garden Gazpacho

Despite clocking in at less than 300 calories per serving, this soup still serves up 15 grams of fiber per serving, meaning you're sure to feel full until your next meal. Chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, and cannellini beans are all meatless sources of protein, further ensuring your satiety.

Ingredients: Olive oil, onion, garlic, water, sugar, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce (optional), canned diced tomatoes, chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, cannellini beans, tomato paste, reduced-fat cheddar cheese (optional)

Calories: 276

Try this recipe: Jane's Vegetarian Chili

Chili doesn't need to simmer for hours; this recipe is ready in 25 minutes. The key is using boxed roasted red pepper and tomato soup as well as flavorful ingredients like jalapenos, garlic, chili powder, and cumin. You get 17 grams of protein and 13 grams of fiber per bowl; add creaminess and some healthy fat by topping with sliced avocado.

Ingredients: Olive oil, onion, jalapeno, garlic, chili powder, cumin, boxed roasted red pepper and tomato soup, black beans, reduced-fat sour cream, cilantro, avocado

Calories: 391

Try this recipe: Spicy Southwestern Black Bean Chili

Potato-leek soup traditionally features heavy cream, but this lightened-up recipe swaps in Greek yogurt. In addition to slashing calories and fat, using Greek yogurt bumps up the protein to 8 grams per serving.

Ingredients: Leeks, russet potatoes, kosher salt, pepper, water, unsalted butter, Greek yogurt, chives

Calories: 247

Try this recipe: Potato-Leek Soup

You've never had summer squash like this. Zucchini is sautéed with onion, garlic, and curry powder, then pureed in a blender. Since zucchini is notoriously bountiful in the summer, you could use the excess to whip up a few batches of this soup to freeze and eat later.

Ingredients: Olive oil, onion, garlic, curry powder, zucchini, vegetable broth, black pepper, sour cream, cilantro

Calories: 165

Try this recipe: Curried Zucchini Soup

Watercress is often overlooked, but it's the star of this soup recipe. The cousin to mustard greens and cabbage is very low in calories, high in phytonutrients and antioxidants, and a good source of vitamin K, which is good for your bones and brain.

Ingredients: Extra-virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, potatoes, vegetable broth, watercress, fat-free Greek yogurt, Calories: 261

Try this recipe: Watercress Soup with Toasted Almonds

This recipe couldn't be easier: simply chop up a medley of colorful veggies, toss them in the blender with day-old whole-grain bread, and blend into a flavor-packed gazpacho you'll make again and again.

Ingredients: Day-old whole-grain bread, yellow or orange tomatoes, yellow or orange bell pepper, cucumber, red onion, white or regular balsamic vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, chipotle chili powder, salt, black pepper, tomato juice, cilantro

Calories: 107

Try this recipe: Easy Gazpacho